Sierra Leone: President Kabbah signals he is finally ready to amend draconian defamation law

Reporters Without Borders has voiced interest in statements by Sierra Leonean officials that President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah is at last ready to amend a criminal defamation law included in the Public Order Act, which dates back to colonial times. The law's victims include "For Di People" editor Paul Kamara, who was unjustly sentenced to four years in prison in October 2004. "There is an urgent need for improvement in Sierra Leone," the organisation said. "We would clearly be pleased if the country were finally to conform to democratic standards of press freedom by overhauling its retrograde legislation. To show goodwill and facilitate a calm start to talks, the authorities should begin by freeing Kamara from Pademba Road prison, where he has just completed the first year of his sentence."